If the Green Bay Packers’ defense is going to slow the high-powered Dallas Cowboys’ offense, it starts with the pass rush being able to get home.
The Cowboys will enter the playoffs having led the NFL in points per game scored this season at 29.9. A lot of that damage has come through the air, with Dallas averaging the third most passing yards per game and Dak Prescott being more than willing to push the ball downfield.
CeeDee Lamb, with a whopping 179 targets and almost 1,800 receiving yards, has been Prescott’s go-to target. However, it’s not only Lamb that the Packers’ defense has to worry about. Jake Ferguson’s 761 receiving yards were the eighth-most among tight ends, while Brandin Cooks had 660 yards of his own.
“They’re super explosive,” said Matt LaFleur of the Cowboys’ offense. “Obviously, they’re going to try to find different ways to get him the ball. He’s such a threat in terms of his ability to make people miss, to use his speed to outrun people. He’s a big, strong guy; he can break tackles. So we need to make sure we know where No. 88 (Lamb) is on every snap.”
If Prescott has time in the pocket and the Packers’ defensive backs have to regularly defend Lamb and Co. for four-plus seconds, it’s likely going to be a long day for the secondary, especially if Jaire Alexander – who is listed as questionable – can’t go.
This is where the Green Bay pass rush needs to step up. Doing so hopefully leads to less time for the cornerbacks to be in coverage. Pressure also has the ability to get the quarterback off his spot while disrupting the timing and rhythm of the play, all of which can lead to inaccurate passes and turnover opportunities.
However, the keyword in all of that is hopefully. Against Prescott, pressure hasn’t guaranteed success for opposing defenses. In fact, he’s been one of the most effective quarterbacks this season when under duress.
Relatively speaking, Prescott hasn’t been pressured all that often–on just 32 percent of his dropbacks, which ranks 12th out of 43 eligible quarterbacks. But even when there are defenders close by, Prescott remains efficient, leading the NFL with a completion rate of 61.5 percent. He also ranks second in yards per attempt with 8.3 and has thrown only one interception.
“I was in Washington when Dak came into the league,” said defensive coordinator Joe Barry, “and just seeing him, and what he’s been able to do the last eight years, I have a ton of respect for him. I think he’s played a lot of good football his entire career, but I don’t know if he’s ever played as good as he’s playing right now.
“Just as far as being incredibly efficient. They put a lot on his plate in terms of getting them in and out of good plays, canning things. He’s playing at an elite level and he’s got a bunch of good targets.”
Simply pressuring Prescott may not be enough. Those opportunities might have to become sacks if the Packers are going to slow Prescott and this Cowboys’ offense.
The Packers’ pass rush has been picking up steam and has been much more effective in the last two weeks, in particular. A lot of that success starts with the play of the interior defensive line and the steady push up the middle that they’ve been able to generate. This season, the Packers rank sixth in pressure rate but have been average when it comes to generating sacks.
The number of pressures created in a game usually has a strong connection to the defense’s overall performance. But this week, that may only be step one of this two-part equation. Against Prescott, Lamb, and the rest of the Dallas offense, how often those pressures become sacks may be the determining factor in this one.
“I just think guys are getting better,” said Kenny Clark of the play of the defensive line. “We got two rookies, TJ’s in this third, D-Wy in his second year. All young guys that are going to continue to get better and they’ve been getting better each and every week.
“You got these guys that got a hell of an ability. TJ can stop the run with the best of them. D-Wy (Devonte Wyatt), Colby (Wooden), and KB (Karl Brooks), those guys can rush and rush they asses off and explosive in the run game and be disruptive. You’ve got a good combination of guys and when you put that work in the only thing you can do is get better.”